Debate: Does Media Coverage Sway our Views?

A video of a recent incident in Washington, DC went viral, causing a flurry of reactions that played out in the media. The brief video showed an encounter between a Native American elder, who was part of an “Indigenous People’s March” on the mall, and a group of students from a Catholic high school who were in town for a “March for Life.” Media coverage initially generated strong reactions. When additional longer videos surfaced, the media’s response changed, and lots of public dialogue about the incident ensued via social media. Listen to this story about what happened and then debate: Does media coverage sway our views?

Related Current Events

The gunman who recently attacked a Pittsburgh synagogue made reference to anti-Semitism, refugees, and conspiracy theories via social media. The man who allegedly sent mail bombs to prominent political and cultural figures had a social media history that indicated an anti-media bias and a presence at political rallies. There has been an increase in U.S. mass-casualty attacks in recent years by mentally unstable, violent individuals who link themselves with ideological or political causes. Listen to this interview with a counter-terrorism expert to learn more about the connection between hostile political rhetoric and violence.

Social media has an interesting effect on teenagers and the way they think. This study used social media and tested how teens responded to various photos online. Teens were shown an image that was deemed to have lots of "likes." The teens tended to like the image also. They found that teens responded strongly to the more popular pictures, regardless of which ones they were. Seeing popular pictures also produced greater activation in the reward centers of the brain. Listen to hear more about the effect of social media on the way teens think.

The 2016 United States presidential election is unlike past elections. Many Americans feel strongly that the candidates on each side are unfit to be president. This controversial election season has left the media to make difficult ethical decisions about how they represent the candidates to the public. In this story, leaders of major news outlets explain their philosophies on what news to report, and whether or not it is OK to favor one candidate over the other in journalism.

Supporters of Donald Trump clashed with protesters and became violent at a political rally in Chicago. The rally was cancelled. There have been tensions building around Trump's campaign for president. Some have accused Trump of encouraging violence others say he’s created a toxic environment in the presidential campaign. However, the voters don’t seem to have a strong reaction. Many people have already made up their minds about who they are voting for, and negative incidents such as this do not change their opinions. Listen to hear more about the volatile nature of this campaign.

Language Challenge Level

These levels of listening complexity can help teachers choose stories for their students. The levels do not relate to the content of the story, but to the complexity of the vocabulary, sentence structure and language in the audio story.

NOTE: Listenwise stories are intended for students in grades 5-12 and for English learners with intermediate language skills or higher.

Low

These stories are easier to understand and are a good starting point for everyone.

Medium

These stories have an average language challenge for students and can be scaffolded for English learners.

High

These stories have challenging vocabulary and complex language structure.